Victoria's elective surgery waiting lists blow out with one in four needing surgery missing out

ONE in four Victorians needing surgery is missing out as the state's health system slips backwards, the State Opposition says.

The planned level of activity agreed between the state's hospitals and Health Minister David Davis could see Victoria's elective surgery waiting lists pass 47,000 when the Baillieu Government releases its next quarterly health update this month.

Unless hospitals have performed significantly more operations in the past three months than planned and budgeted for, the health system will be set to record its worst performance since the quarterly reporting process was introduced in 2004.

A Labor analysis of the Statement of Priorities contracts signed by hospitals shows just 75.1 per cent of people waiting for an operation will have received one if the contracts have been followed.

"The two Budgets of the Baillieu Government have taken out so much money that they have fallen behind and waiting lists will now be almost 10,000 more than when they came to government," Opposition health spokesman Gavin Jennings said.

Kathryn McFarlane, spokeswoman for Health Minister David Davis, said Statements of Priorities contracts continued to be negotiated with health services and the Government had given $1.3 billion more health funds than in the Brumby government's last year.

If hospitals have followed set targets for the past year, 47,127 Victorians will be left on elective surgery waiting lists at the end of September, while 143,046 were able to access their operations.

When the Brumby government left office, 80.6 per cent of Victorians waiting for an operation were getting them.

However, it had taken six years of cumulative funding for Labor to progressively raise the level from the 75.1 per cent having operations in 2004, when quarterly reporting began.